Academic Catalan relies on recurring frames such as plantejar una qüestió, dur a terme una anàlisi, posar de manifest una diferència, and tenir en compte una limitació. These are not interchangeable bundles of prestigious words. Each frame packages an intellectual act and selects its own article, preposition, complement, and clitic pattern.
English-speaking writers face two opposite risks: translating an English collocation member by member, or replacing a plain verb with a heavy nominal construction merely to sound academic. Good academic phraseology is conventional and exact, but it is also proportionate. Analitzar may be better than dur a terme una anàlisi when the noun contributes no useful classification or modification.
Collocations build clauses; connectors build relations between them. The page on academic connectors treats that complementary level of organization.
Pattern grid
| Frame | Academic function | Open slot | Typical clitic |
|---|---|---|---|
| plantejar una qüestió sobre X | introduce a problem or research question | topic/content | plantejar-la |
| dur a terme X | carry out a bounded procedure | estudi, anàlisi, intervenció | dur-lo/la a terme |
| posar de manifest X/que... | make a finding or contrast visible | noun phrase or clause | posar-ho/la de manifest |
| tenir en compte X | include a factor in reasoning | factor, limit, evidence | tenir-ho/la en compte |
| donar suport a X | provide evidence or backing | hipòtesi, interpretació | donar-hi suport |
| arribar a la conclusió que... | state the endpoint of an argument | finite clause | arribar-hi |
The table makes phraseology visible as grammar. A terme, de manifest, and en compte are fixed parts, while the direct object varies. Moving or translating one preposition can turn a standard academic frame into a conspicuous calque.
Plantejar a question, problem, or hypothesis
Plantejar presents something for analysis or discussion: plantejar una qüestió, un problema, una hipòtesi, un objectiu. A qüestió need not have question-mark syntax; it can be an issue that organizes inquiry. When the content is an indirect yes/no question, si introduces it.
L'article planteja la qüestió de si el canvi és reversible.
The article raises the question of whether the change is reversible. (academic)
A partir d'aquest buit, plantegem dues hipòtesis complementàries.
On the basis of this gap, we put forward two complementary hypotheses. (academic)
English “pose a question” can correspond to formular una pregunta when someone actually asks for an answer, but plantejar una qüestió usually frames an analytical issue. That distinction prevents academic prose from sounding like a classroom exchange.
Dur a terme: bounded execution
Dur a terme presents an organized activity as completed or carried forward: dur a terme un estudi, una revisió, tres entrevistes, una intervenció. The verb dur inflects, while a terme remains fixed.
L'equip va dur a terme trenta entrevistes semiestructurades entre març i juny.
The team carried out thirty semi-structured interviews between March and June. (academic)
With a direct-object clitic, place it on the verb: l'anàlisi, la vam dur a terme; with an infinitive or affirmative command, the normal placement rules apply: cal dur-la a terme, dueu-la a terme. The clitic never replaces terme.
La prova pilot s'havia previst per al maig, però finalment la vam dur a terme al juny.
The pilot test had been planned for May, but we eventually carried it out in June.
There is often a clearer simple verb. Vam analitzar les respostes is leaner than vam dur a terme una anàlisi de les respostes unless anàlisi needs classification: una anàlisi longitudinal detallada.
Posar de manifest: evidence makes something visible
Posar de manifest means “show, reveal, bring out.” Its subject may be data, a comparison, an experiment, or an analysis. The construction does not itself specify evidential strength; that depends on design, data, and the claim being made.
La comparació posa de manifest una diferència sostinguda entre els dos grups.
The comparison reveals a sustained difference between the two groups. (academic)
Els resultats posen de manifest que l'efecte disminueix al cap de sis mesos.
The results show that the effect decreases after six months. (academic)
The fixed preposition is de, not en. With a clausal finding, ho can resume the proposition: les dades ho posen de manifest. With a feminine noun, direct-object la is possible: aquesta diferència, les dades la posen de manifest. In practice, a simple mostrar is often smoother.
Tenir en compte: including a factor
Tenir en compte X means that X enters a decision, calculation, or interpretation. En compte is fixed; the variable factor is a direct object.
Cal tenir en compte el biaix de selecció abans d'interpretar els percentatges.
Selection bias must be taken into account before the percentages are interpreted. (academic)
Aquestes limitacions, les hem tingut en compte en el model final.
We have taken these limitations into account in the final model.
For a whole proposition, use ho: No ho havíem tingut en compte. Do not use en as though the factor were a de-complement; the visible en belongs to the stored phrase.
Evidence: show exactly how strong the support is
Academic collocations encode degrees of commitment. Les dades mostren and els resultats indiquen present a finding; els resultats suggereixen is more tentative; donar suport a una hipòtesi says evidence is compatible with and favors it, not that it has been proved forever. Corroborar is stronger: it claims that further evidence confirms or strengthens a prior hypothesis, finding, or account, although the verb alone does not guarantee that the evidence is independent.
| Collocation | Responsible use |
|---|---|
| les dades mostren X | X is directly visible in the analysis |
| els resultats indiquen X | X is the supported interpretation |
| els resultats suggereixen X | X is plausible but not conclusive |
| donar suport a la hipòtesi | evidence favors the hypothesis |
| no permetre descartar X | evidence remains compatible with X |
Els resultats suggereixen una associació, però no permeten establir una relació causal.
The results suggest an association, but they do not allow a causal relationship to be established. (academic caution)
Les observacions donen suport a la hipòtesi inicial, tot i que la mostra és reduïda.
The observations support the initial hypothesis, although the sample is small.
The verb suportar normally means bearing, tolerating, or physically supporting. Using les dades suporten la hipòtesi is an English-influenced collocation; standard academic Catalan uses donar suport a.
Three substitutable frames
- plantejar + determiner + research noun + sobre/de si...: una qüestió sobre, el problema de, la hipòtesi que.
- dur a terme + bounded procedure: una enquesta, dues proves, la codificació manual.
- X + mostra/indica/suggereix + finding: choose the verb by evidential strength, not stylistic variety alone.
These frames are productive, but their slots have semantic restrictions. One may dur a terme una anàlisi, not ordinarily dur a terme una idea. One may plantejar un problema, but resoldre or abordar it once the task changes.
Literal image, idiom, and a plain alternative
Dur a terme historically evokes carrying something to its endpoint; synchronically it is an established execution frame. Posar de manifest turns a finding into something visible. These images can aid memory, but academic readers process the phrases as units.
Vam analitzar els errors de codificació de manera independent.
We analyzed the coding errors independently. (plain and concise)
Vam dur a terme una anàlisi independent dels errors de codificació.
We carried out an independent analysis of the coding errors. (the noun hosts a methodological classification)
Both are idiomatic. The second is useful if anàlisi independent contrasts with another analysis; otherwise the first avoids needless nominalization.
Mini-dialogue: supervisor and researcher
—Has tingut en compte els participants que van abandonar l'estudi? —Sí. N'hem avaluat l'impacte amb una anàlisi de sensibilitat, i els resultats continuen donant suport a la hipòtesi principal.
—Have you taken into account the participants who dropped out of the study? —Yes. We have assessed their impact with a sensitivity analysis, and the results continue to support the main hypothesis. (academic discussion)
The answer uses en in n'hem avaluat l'impacte because it resumes a de-relation (“their impact”). That is different from tenir-los en compte, where the participants are the direct object.
Bureaucratic overuse
Academic register is not a contest to maximize syllables. Procedir a realitzar, efectuar la realització de, and repeated dur a terme hide agency and slow the argument. Realitzar is a legitimate Catalan verb, but it is often chosen mechanically where fer, elaborar, analitzar, calcular, or aplicar would be more exact.
El personal investigador va procedir a realitzar la verificació de les dades.
The research staff proceeded to carry out the verification of the data. (grammatical but bureaucratically inflated)
L'equip investigador va verificar les dades.
The research team verified the data. (clearer and more direct)
These frames are standard across Catalan varieties. IEC- and AVL-oriented academic texts may differ in editorial preferences, but the core syntax is shared; variation does not justify importing a Spanish or English frame wholesale.
Common Mistakes
❌ L'estudi posa en manifest una diferència important.
Incorrect preposition — the fixed phrase is posar de manifest.
✅ L'estudi posa de manifest una diferència important.
The study reveals an important difference.
❌ Les dades suporten la nostra hipòtesi.
English-influenced collocation — academic Catalan uses donar suport a.
✅ Les dades donen suport a la nostra hipòtesi.
The data support our hypothesis.
❌ Les limitacions, n'hem tingut en compte en interpretar el resultat.
Incorrect clitic — the factor in tenir en compte is a direct object, not a de-complement.
✅ Les limitacions, les hem tingut en compte en interpretar el resultat.
We have taken the limitations into account when interpreting the result.
❌ Vam llevar a terme l'anàlisi seguint el protocol.
Incorrect light verb calqued from Spanish llevar a cabo — Catalan uses dur or portar in this frame.
✅ Vam dur a terme l'anàlisi seguint el protocol preregistrat.
We carried out the analysis following the preregistered protocol.
⚠️ L'article conclou amb «qui dia passa, any empeny» per justificar que falten dades.
A proverb cannot replace methodological justification in an academic conclusion; its informal fatalism is socially and rhetorically mismatched.
✅ L'article conclou reconeixent que cal ampliar la mostra abans de generalitzar els resultats.
The article concludes by acknowledging that the sample must be expanded before the results can be generalized. (academic)
Key Takeaways
- Academic collocations are stored grammatical frames with selected prepositions and clitic patterns.
- Use plantejar una qüestió, dur a terme, posar de manifest, and tenir en compte for their specific discourse functions.
- Match the evidence verb to the strength of the inference: mostrar, indicar, suggerir, and donar suport a are not decorative synonyms.
- A noun-based frame is useful when the noun is counted, classified, or modified; otherwise a precise simple verb is often better.
- Formal prose gains authority from explicit evidence and proportionate wording, not from bureaucratic length.
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